Why should I use MAMP? Isn't everything already installed in OS X?

The Apache/PHP versions provided by Apple are not always up-to-date, and the Apache-PHP combination is quite slow. In addition, MySQL has to be installed manually.With one click, and in just a few minutes MAMP will install Apache 2, current PHP and MySQL. Using the included XCache, PHP-scripts are executed up to ten times faster compared to Apple's pre-installed Apache/PHP. When you use the MAMP programme, you can easily start and stop the server. Thus, the server does not have to be running in the background all the time, wasting precious resources. To "uninstall" MAMP, you only have to delete the MAMP directory and everything returns to the original state (MAMP does not alter anything on the "normal" OS X).

Can I activate and deactivate eAccelerator and Zend Optimizer?

On which ports are Apache and MySQL running?

By default, Apache runs on Port 8888 and MySQL on Port 8889. You can change the ports at any time under Preferences > Ports.

Can I run Apache on Port 80?

Yes, you can run Apache on Port 80.

Will MAMP work if the MAMP folder is not located in the Applications directory?

No. In order to work properly the MAMP folder has to be located in the Applications folder.

How can I change the password of the MySQL root user?

Open the Mac OS Terminal Application (located in "/Applications/Utilities") and enter the following command line:

/Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysqladmin -u root -p password

replace with your new password.Please bear in mind that you also have to change the phpMyAdmin configuration and probably your own php-scripts to use the newly created MySQL password. For changing the phpMyAdmin configuration edit the following file and update the password:

/Applications/MAMP/bin/phpMyAdmin-X.X.X/config.inc.php

Why does MAMP ask me for a password when starting or stopping?

You probably have set the Apache port smaller than 1024. Under a Unix system like Mac OS X you must have "root" (administrative) privileges to start IP-services using ports smaller than 1024.

Where can I change the ports for Apache and MySQL?

You can change the ports in the MAMP application's Preferences Panel:

Where should I store my HTML and PHP pages?

By default, PHP and HTML Pages should be stored inside the MAMP "htdocs" folder which is located in the MAMP Application directory /Applications/MAMP. This folder is called "Document Root". You can change the path for the Document Root in the MAMP application's Preferences Panel:

With which editor can I edit PHP files?

You can edit PHP scripts basically with every text editor. Nevertheless, the development editors which also offer highlighting of PHP code and Type-Ahead are more comfortable. Here is a small but incomplete selection of editors and development environments for Mac OS X:

Many HTML editors and web designers prefer full-featured webdesign solutions like Dreamweaver, which also supports the development of PHP scripts.

Where can I find PHP more classes?

There are many classes and scripts for almost any purpose and requirement to be found in the internet. The official PHP Repositories PEAR and PECL will be a good start to search for ready-to-use code

Exactly which files are being created or changed by MAMP PRO?

MAMP PRO does not change any configuration files outside its own application directory (except its own files). The following list contains all files which are created and changed by MAMP PRO and are not located within the MAMP PRO folder:

Can I use “MAMP Standard” at the same time as MAMP PRO?

MAMP PRO is a configuration tool for MAMP. Your MAMP installation will run whenever MAMP PRO is active, as well as after uninstalling MAMP PRO. However, sporadic problems may occur if you try to continue running MAMP after uninstalling MAMP PRO, because MAMP does not know some configuration options of MAMP PRO. If you experience problems feel free to discuss them in our forum or - if you are shure it is a bug in MAMP or MAMP PRO - submit a bug report in our bugtracker.